[square1pa]

I have 4 engines and two trai,ing cars that carry sound, batteries and TE. The connectors (2 sets of 2 wire connectors) are very hard to disconnect without risking stripping the wires. I am about to convert a littel LGB 040 saddle tank to battery for my 3 and 5 year old and want something easier to plug and unplug. What are you using and where did you get it?
Thanks
ryan

 

[Pete Thornton]

Ryan,

I buy various connectors from All Electronics, usually with wires attached.

http://www.allelectronics.com

I use this 4-pin connector between engine and tender to carry power to the motor, etc. There's a similar 6-pin unit on the "Connectors (Multi-pin)" page.

 

[square1pa]

how big are they?the black plastic parts not the wires.

 

[blueregal]

The pics above are about 3-4 times bigger than the actual part itself!! I have trouble hooking them up myself so a small child will probably have even more problems!! If you use the top ones make sure on the female end you break off the little tab that locks it. When you have a derailment or other crash??????????? you want the battery car to come loose and not let the engine keep running. The Regal

 

[Torby]

I like those, but they do take a knack to get apart. Maybe if you were to break off the latch so they just slide together...

 

[bottino]

Don't some of these actually have the wires reversed. The red on the connector is really the black on the engine, or battery. I think I knew this, but found it out the hard way and blew a TE fuse in my battery car. I have since replaced them all with R/C car white ones recommended by Stan Cedarleaf. They have the polarity correct and are very easy to connect and disconnect.
Paul

 

[Ward H]

I also use the connectors shown above. the 2 pin connectors match the Aristo MU connector. Paul is correct, the red wire is not always the positive. It is easy enough to pop out the pins and change them. Over on the OVGRS web site Paul Norton has a write up on it. I do that or use some shrink wrap to cover the red. I always use a conntinuity test when ever I am working on a locos wiring, just to be safe.
I use two of the two pin connectors if I need a 4 wire connector. I just put one male and one femail end on the loco and the opposite on the tender or box car. I have read that a lot of people snip off the little latch but I don't. The latch on one end and the stub on the other lets me identify how to put them together with my eyes closed, not that I can see them that well with my eyes open.

 

[Bill Swindell]

I've used 3 different solutions.

1. The Aristo style connector mentioned above. There is no reason to remove the latch.
2. Pins like those used in DB-25 connectors. I put shrink tubing around them.

3. Snappable header pins. http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/SIP-30/SNAPPABLE-30-PIN-SIP-SOCKET-.1-CENTERS/-/1.html

 

[Torby]

He's looking for something 3 and 5 year olds can easily connect and disconnect. Small fingers are often good at handle small parts, but latches can sometimes be hard.

 

[jnic]

Which end is for the loco and which end is for the Battery Car ??

 

[rmcintir]

Aristo puts the two prong male end on the locomotive.

 

[Del Tapparo]

The connector with the power source attached should always be the female connector; i.e. no male pins hanging out that could be shorted out and cause a problem.

 

[Stan Cedarleaf]

Hi Ryan...

Just to add filling to the pie... I use these 2 connector plugs for most of my battery car to locomitive connections.

2 pin connectors

However, they might a bit small for 3 and 5 year old fingers to deal with.

And as Paul posted, they will come in a reverse polarity configuration. Each batch must be checked.

Both these types are larger, cannot be reversed in polarity and might be easier for little fingers. Just some thoughts.

Larger Connectors

Or these could work Heavier wire connectors

I think these are available at Radio Shack. But more expensive.

As Paul mentioned, I used the Tamyia type connectors below exculsively on my batteries. No polarity issues, they are industry standard in polarity and quite easy to plug in.

Socket

Plug

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/CON-20/2-CONDUCTOR-MULTI-CONNECTOR/-/1.html